Reviews and Comments

Wasn't expecting to dislike this :(

Enjoyed this. Doesn't go very far into Gates' life but it gave him more space to focus on his childhood and early days.

His obsession and drive coupled with serendipity and like minded friends combined to form one of the most recognisable companies of recent times.

Lots of people will say it's all luck. Gates probably wouldn't disagree. But if his story here is true, he would likely have succeeded at whatever he'd done.

An interesting read, but possibly not much to take away or talk about.

I've not read any of the Superintendent Battle books before.

This was OK - feels like the first part of the book had very little going on. Definitely some dated views/dialogue in the story. The characters were interesting, but the story felt overly complex.

I'm going to go on to The Seven Dials Mystery soon and see how that goes.

Written before some of the stories by Tchaikovsky with a similar premise, this was a short and fun read.

I don't think the writing of different species was anywhere near as mature or compelling as Tchaikovsky's stories, however the overarching plot - population control, nuclear war, and the environment was closer to home.

I liked that both species had flaws and specialities, but I wish a bit more time had been spent exploring their civilisations.

Not for me

I wasn't sure I was going to finish this, but it really picked up about 30% of the way in.

It's a relatively light overview of a load of stuff (no prizes for guessing that bit)

You're probably familiar with all of it, but there will be gems and additions to knowledge that are delightful.

A highlight for me was the discussion of time, the age of the universe and how our understanding of that has changed (and is still changing)

This book is a refreshingly open look at lots of parts of his life. It goes into more personal detail than I expected.

Good to get a bit of a peek behind the curtain on the well known shows. The audiobook is narrated by Robinson himself which was obviously great.

I can't believe we almost didn't get him on time team or his version of Baldrick. I guess it's also an interesting lesson in serendipity and persistence.

Loved the bits on Mick Aston - it's good to hear he was as wholesome as he always seemed.

Thought I'd give this series a go before the Apple TV show. It's pretty fast and doesn't hold your hand.

Didn't realise how short it was going to be - fun read with some great characterisation. Will probably reread and then continue the series.

I think this was possibly ruined by Jekyll and Hyde being such a defining work and now well known trope. No doubt it was amazing for the time.

If I could somehow read it without that context I imagine I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As it is, it’s a passable horror with plenty to read into the themes.

A bit disappointing overall, though.

Loved this. Wasn’t dry at all and written with a sense of humour and awareness of the target audience at all times.

For me it is less common to find a non-fiction book unputdownable but I devoured this and enjoyed all of it.

I enjoyed the variety of topics and the sense of scale. The mathematics was supported by analogy and practical examples. There were also interesting parts on general scientific progress. A stand out for me was the commentary that not so long ago learned people were able to hold the sum total of human science in their minds - something that is no longer possible.

I enjoyed the coverage of the anthropic principle however-much it may feel like a cop-out.

Black holes continue to fascinate and terrify me.

I loved the first one - this one only slightly disappointed but was still a great read. Ana and Din are great characters, and there's some good development and interactions between them here.

Introduced a potential (and relatively inevitable) Moriarty type character which escalated the stakes. The worldbuilding continues to be stellar - just the right mix of fantasy anchored in familiar concepts.

The mystery of this book was a little disappointing, but it was made up for by the series level plot advancements.

It felt smaller scale and more contained than the first book, and I kept waiting for it to kick up a gear and unfortunately it didn't, really. Still - great - and I look forward to the next.

Kinda interesting approach to a set of tools to deal with particular challenges. The idea being you use this book more as a reference and reinforcement exercise than a life altering read.

No real complaints about the book but also no real praise. YMMV.